Field of Invention
The disclosed subject matter is in the field of systems and apparatus for (a) automatically detecting, categorizing, and locating animals using computer aided image comparisons and (b) alerting a user to the detection of a preselected animal or activity of said preselected animal in an area of interest.
Background of the Invention
Sometimes, animal activity in a particular area of interest (“area of interest”) is monitored. In particular, many are desirous of knowing the animal activity in an area of interest so that they can be alerted to the presence of a specific animal in the area or to a specific type of animal activity in an area. Game hunters, for instance, are frequently interested in game animals' presence around a lure (e.g., a deer feeder) so that the likelihood of a successful hunt is increased. Similarly, animal enthusiasts or scientists are interested in the presence of particular animals in an area for observational purposes. Finally, farmers monitor their crop and livestock areas for dangerous or destructive animals so that undesirable animal behaviors can be prevented or deterred.
In view of the foregoing, cameras have sometimes been used to record the animal activities of an area. However, such cameras are not always suitable for monitoring an area of interest. Reviewing camera images or videos in real-time is time consuming, and after-the-fact review of such images and videos results in delayed alerts of animal activities. Techniques like motion detection and time lapse photography have been employed to minimize the volume of real-time images or video to be analyzed while monitoring animal activity in an area of interest. However, these techniques are indiscriminate with respect to the types of animals that are detected, and frequently result in false alarms/alerts or the reporting of irrelevant animals or animal activities (e.g., a squirrel, or even wind, can cause the same alert as a game animal or a mountain lion).
It comes as no surprise that a need exists for improved systems and apparatus for (a) automatically detecting, categorizing, and locating animals using computer aided image comparisons and (b) alerting a user to the detection of a preselected animal or activity of said preselected animal in an area of interest.